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Suzuki backs Melbourne Storm for 3 years

Who said that an NRL side in Victoria would never work? On the back of their Premiership win in NRL 2007, the Melbourne Storm have announced a 3 year deal with major vehicle manufacturer Suzuki to be the sleeve sponsor for the next 3 years. It adds to an impressive linup of corporate backers for the Storm, with Medibank / Host Plus their major sponsors and additional deals with Reebok sweetening things - independent NRL audits have found the Melbourne Storm’s sponsors to be amongst the most recognised in the game.

An estimated value on the Storm’s advertising power is now around $2 million AU - a huge leap from previous years, as big name corporates fight to get a piece of the Storm’s hot real estate - their well recognised strip. With their value tripling in the last three years and a new stadium in 2010 - the Melbourne Storm look like a solid investment for the future. It all adds weight to our recent article about the health of the NRL and future expansion plans.

To capitalize on their growing brand, the Storm have just released a new away strip (pictured above) for their 2008 NRL season - helping their sponsors stand out even more with their increased TV coverage. Teams such as Canberra and Newcastle would kill for the financial backing the Storm now has. With a prodominantly white top, it certainly stands out from the rest.

And they said it would never work in Victoria? The Storm now have a top coach, a playing roster littered with stars and a growing corporate brand that is highly sought after. Well, maybe it was only Denis Fitzgeralnd that said the Storm would never work and they have been throwing egg on his face ever since.

Robina Stadium key to NRL’s Future

It’s a magnificent stadium, the perfect dimensions for the ultimate viewing of Rugby League. Robina Stadium; the new home of the Gold Coast Titans is not only a huge boost for the young club - but it’s location close to the popular Gold Coast tourist mecca but right on the border of the quickly growing outer suburban areas of the coast means it will have the ultimate chance of creating a huge local following, but also becoming a popular ‘tourist’ ground with the hope visitors and travellers to the Gold Coast will take up seats for big matches.

Obviously a massive asset to the Gold Coast Titans, the blueprint for Robina is a massive test case for the expansion of the NRL. Should the new ground succeed in bringing in consistently big crowds and somehow tap into the tourist market that exists on the Gold Coast - the NRL will have the draw card it craves to totally tie up the Queensland market and allow for future expansion of the Rugby League game.

While there is a strong rivalry from AFL in Queensland, success from the Gold Coast all the way north to Townsville would ultimately edge out AFL and give NRL the box seat, allowing for a move into new territory nationally or possibly internationally (expanding NZ).

Robina or Skilled Stadium as it’s called is a complete suburban village in iteself. With a 7 day a week precinct operating around the massive stadium, the village surrounding the ground is in the order of 200,000 square metres alone. With the planning in place for the development for over a decade, all the ingredients look right for a super successful development for all parties involved. Shops, eateries and on-going entertainment - it looks to be a vibrant hub in and around the Stadium.

Obviously the Titans results on the park will play a big part in deciding the speed of success for the Skilled Stadium development, should everything fall into place - where will the NRL look next? Perth or perhaps the second New Zealand team - Wellington?

With the east coast looking strong, the NRL has the luxury of continued success for the Melbourne Storm - building more foundations in the AFL heartland of Victoria. Perth is a natural next choice, a booming economy with good population growth - perhaps the Reds are ready for a revival? Junior and ametuer Rugby League outfits remain and there is good interest in the Western state.

The other viable alternative is a second New Zealand Rugby League side. Many argue the hostile Rugby Union territory of NZ might a tough nut to expand, but a successful team in a major centre such as Wellington or Christchurch would bring a much more territorial following from the Kiwis. Inter-state rivalry and more coverage could be a good asset to start toppling the Union strangle-hold.

Regardless, the future for the NRL and Rugby League looks bright. While expansion shouldn’t happen too quickly, continual growth and repairs of old wounds are happening slowly but surely. With a team back on the shores of the Gold Coast and NRL even venturing back into the USA with the Bunnies trial - its certainly a case of ‘Back to the Future’ for Rugby League. Who knows, in the current vein of growth we could eventually see a true national game.

2008 NRL Player Signings; Inu and Taylor

The player signings are well underway in 2008, with young guns Kris Inu and Dave Taylor re-signing with their respective NRL clubs - the Eels and Broncos. With much attention from rival clubs, these up and coming players were in high demand and their local clubs did well to fend off attacks.

Inu rejected lucrative offers from the Sydney Roosters, Broncos, Sharks and Gold Coast to stay with Parramatta until the end of the 2010 season, with the 20-year-old New Zealand international beleiving that the Eels would be strong contenders for grand final glory in the coming seasons. The Lalor Park junior burst onto the NRL scene early last year, with the talented outside back impressing many with his electric skills in his debut season, recording 12 tries and 34 goals in just 12 exhilerating appearances.The retention of Inu shores up the Eels future playing roster, with fellow backline young gun Jarryd Hayne also agreeing to terms last Deecember. A solid second season also secured giant Brisbane forward Dave Taylor a contract upgrade, with both the towering prop and the Broncos club agreeing to take a measured approach in securing the 19-year-olds playing future.

“We are very happy to announce that the club has signed David with the Broncos until the end of 2009,” said Broncos cheif executive Bruno Cullen today. “Obviously we want him to be a long term player at the club, and David has told us he wants to be here for a long time.
“But both parties felt at this stage of his career it was better just to add the one year to his deal.

The Blackwater junior has made just 13 top grade appearances to date, with the 115kg powerhouse preferring to establish himself before committing to a long-term contract. “I am happy just to sign for one more year and take that small step for now,” said Taylor. “I still have a lot left to prove, which starts with making certain I am part of the club’s NRL team every week.”

Former Warrior on Rape Charges

Former Auckland Warriors five eighth Tea Ropati is currently up on rape charges in New Zealand as his case was heard with a heavy media interest in Auckland today. Ropati’s name was previously supressed since the allegations arose after a late night incident in 2006.

Ropati was joined in court with his three brothers, one of his brothers John acted as junior defence council during the hearing. It’s alleged Ropati took advantage of a seriously drunk woman who was reportedly high on cocaine and heavily intoxicated.

Facing a total of 6 charges, 1 of rape and 5 of unlawful sexual connection; the woman’s allegations are supported by video footage shot of the two while in a back room of a nightclub. As the female drops into a virtually sleep-like state - Ropati is alleged to have taken advatage of her; with the female unable to block his actions. From there, Ropati is alleged to have escorted her to a car and driven her to a nearby secluded spot where soon after the woman awoke and realised the gravity of the situation.

Ropati’s League career spanned a decade; with time at the Newcastle Knights, St Helens and the Auckland Warriors. A talented player with high profile in New Zealand; Tea Ropati will attempt to clear his name as the hearing continues tomorrow.

Bulldogs old boys challenge for control

To add fuel to the fires over at Belmore, it seems that a boardroom battle is about to erupt as former Bulldogs stars gather in an attempt to regain control of the once proud club. Former players Paul Dunn, Graeme Hughes, Barry Ward and Andrew Farrar have created a rival ticket to try and wrestle control of the NRL club from it’s current Malcolm Noad governed state.

At the heart of the challenge, the Bulldogs old boys want a return to the days of Peter Moore. In the days of Bullfrog Moore, the Bulldogs club was heavily envied - they had a tight knit family structure and continued to produce quality players and won a stack of Premiership Titles.

Since the passing of Peter Moore, it seems the Bulldogs have limped from one crisis to another. Apart from tasting glory in 2004, the Bulldogs have been constantly in NRL headlines for all the wrong reasons. Rape allegations, wild parties, boozing on the job and a revolving door that lost millions of dollars worth of playing talent are the key problems the club has faced.

It’s interesting to see how the tide has turned against Malcolm Noad. The one time News Limited man and previous NRL chairman was a favourite son of the News crowd sometime ago; how things have changed. News Limited papers continue to bag Noad and make like continually difficult for him at the Bulldogs and current chairman George Peponis remains uncomitted to either Noad and the rival ticket - keeping his eggs in both baskets.

Surely things can’t get worse for the Bulldogs, their new training facitily at the Sydney Showground is undergoing serious renovations and is currently doubled booked well into the NRL season. With morale at an all time low, should the Bulldogs drop a few games early in the season they simply might not be able to bounce back before heads roll.

Gary Kemble angrily quits Kiwi job

Embattled Kiwi Rugby League coach Gary Kemble has finally quit his post as head coach of the NZ side after weeks of in-fighting and an eventual player revolt - led by Roy Asotasi and David Kidwell.

Citing the best interests of the team and his country, Kemble eventually had enough of the finger pointing and constant spot light from NZ and Australian media. Since taking the reigns, Kemble has been in control of some of the biggest ever defeats the NZ Rugby League has seen.

With such a quality side, it was gobsmacking that Kemble couldn’t pull it all together and making the matter worse was the fact that when Wayne Bennett had control of the All Golds touring side (a side with similar Kiwi personnel) he had them firing on all cylinders.

With Kemble walking away, it opens the door for Australian Wayne Bennett to get involved with the Kiwi’s and bring some respect back to their national side. The quality of player is certainly there and while it hasn’t been mentioned in the press, there is no question Wayne Bennett would like to exact some revenge on the Australian side after his eventual dumping to Ricky Stuart several years ago - this is the chance of a fresh change and a new challenge for the aging Bennett.

A competitive Kiwi Rugby League side is critical to the success of the league internationally and the World Cup around the corner - the Kiwis need to pull together ASAP or risk drifting further afield.

Fatty’s Son signed by Titans

Former Rugby League icon and now NRL Footy Show Host Paul Vautin is beaming at present, with the news the Gold Coast Titans have scouted his son into the ranks of the young NRL club.

A skinny 17 year old, Matt Vautin is quite the opposite of his father - Vautin Jnr is a pacey outside back with a decent step, something his old man would have loved back in his heyday. With a good amount of height and the ideal weight at 93kg - the signs for the future for the young Vautin look good.

Initially the Titans had no idea they were scouting the son of former star Paul Vautin, but the rest as they say is history. The Titans have opened the cheque book and Matt Vautin has now relocated from the Northern Beaches of NSW to the tourist strip of the Gold Coast.

Vautin Snr has asked old mate Trevor Gilmiester to keep a close eye on his son over the remainder of the off-season and the man they called the axe is reportedly assisting young Vautin with tackling technique and an increased fitness regime in addition to the help he is receiving from the Titans.

The trend of former players sons entering the NRL seems set to continue, with several already scattered throughout the clubs and the upcoming stars in Pearce Jnr at the Roosters and Roach Jnr at Cronulla will see the trend continue along with Fatty Jnr and his deal with the Titans.

Stacey Jones re-joins Warriors in 2008

The NZ Warriors will be boosted for the NRL 2008 season by the addition of former halfback Stacey Jones to their coaching staff for their assult on the premiership.

The sublimely talented Jones has recently come back from several years in the UK Super League and his presence should surely add some guile and creativity to the improving Warriors half combination of Michael Witt and Grant Rovelli. Since his departure, the Warriors have always struggled in the halves - apart from an impressive 2007 which saw New Zealand not only reach the NRL Final 8 but actually host a home final.

Things are seemingly on the rise for the Warriors, they have secured the services of a quality coach in Ivan Cleary and their roster boasts several Australian Internationals which helps bring a nice blended brand of football to the sometimes over exuberant polynesian style they previously possessed.

With Steve Price having the year of his life in 2007, the Warriors will be hoping they can achieve the same with the aging Brent Tate. Tate’s natural talent and passion cannot be questioned, but the popular Queenslander has struggled deeply with injury in the past 2 years and many feel it may be a big ask for the former International representative to again climb to the lofty heights of the past. Under a new coach and new environment, it might be just the tonic Tate needs to revive his best game and brush off the injury woes; fortunately for the NZ Warriors his presence alone on the field will add confidence and structure in 2008 - something in the past that goes MIA at the Warriors.

Judging by 2007 results, a strong home crowd following and the addition of some quality troops and coaching skills in Stacey Jones, the Warriors are a realistic chance of taking the NRL Premiership in 2008. Many say Melbourne cannot be beaten, but the style of NRL the Warriors can sometimes turn on might be just the magic to topple the might of the Storm juggernaut.

NRL Scores

At NRL News in 2008, we will be taking a unique approach to NRL Scores, the NRL Table and of course our now popular NRL Power Rankings.

We’ll not only be displaying the scores from each weekend game, but we’ll discuss how a team won and lost - not just focus on a minue by minute review like many other sites online. Each week when we update the NRL Table we will discuss the movers and shakers in addition to giving you the latest Table updates.

And finally, our hugely popular NRL Power Rankings will be back in 2008. Many websites are trying to copy this idea and format, but no one can write the analysis like the Grubber and our team at NRL News. Monitoring each team in depth and showing their ‘true’ spot on the week to week ‘Power Ladder’ you’ll get the best feel for where your NRL team is at each week.

So with such detailed and unqiue reviews, be sure and keep up with all your NRL Scores, NRL Table and of course the NRL Power Rankings only at NRL News.com

Will Jonathan Thurston mature in 2008?

He has already been crowned the new king of Rugby League. Jonathan Thurston is commonly rated above the likes of the talented Darren Lockyer and quickly became ‘the best player in the world’ when Andrew Johns retired from NRL Rugby League.

There is no doubting that Jonathan Thurston is an NRL footballer with the highest skill level and quality about his game. Often able to create attacking raids from nothing, his fleet of foot and impressive short and long passing game always has the Cowboys on the front foot and regularly tearing teams apart.

JT also has a top kicking game in his bag of tricks, gaining massive meters for the North Queensland side and bagging plenty of 40/20’s which prove so valuable in todays game.

Seemingly improving each year Jonathan Thurston has been the crux of the Cowboys high riding results over the past few years, oh how the Bulldogs would be ruing the day they let JT go - proving to be a massive mistake for the now struggling Belmore club.

If there is one fault with JT’s game, it’s his tendancy to ‘blow up’ or have the occasional brain snap, which is often directed at referees and even his fellow players at times. The smarter, more experienced players know the way to beat Thurston is to unsettle his game and talk a little trash to get under his skin.

During 2007, this worked quite regularly. While Thurston was still a superpower in many games, too often he was wasting his breath debating referees or getting himself sinbinned over silly tactics.

It would be hard for any coach to put a harness on someone like Thurston, nor would they want to - but if someone doesn’t give Thurston the good oil and get him to tone things down, he risks becoming a burdon on his Cowboys team and possibly hurting his chances of future rep jerseys.

It might seem a steep call to hold JT back from rep duties, but when you consider the likes of his competitiors - you have Scott Prince and a host of others waiting for their chance.

Passion itself is one of Jonathan Thurstons biggest assets, but too much of a good thing can be the worst thing in the world and if JT doesn’t put the brakes on the bad stuff in 2008 he could find his mob sliding out of contention along with his reputation.

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